PBHS helps Walmart celebrate ribbon cutting for recent renovation

Poplar Bluff High School students were invited to help lead Walmart’s re-grand opening on Friday, Oct. 16, in the Supercenter parking lot.

The event—featuring food trucks, partnering organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club and Three Rivers College, and live broadcasting by River Radio—kicked off with the JROTC presenting the colors, followed by the Sho-Me Band helping to perform the National Anthem.

“For 56 years we have been in Poplar Bluff, 36 years of which have been in this building,” stated Matt Looney, store manager. “This change is an investment not only in this store for our customers, but in the community we serve.”

The updated layout includes an 8,000-square-foot expansion of the grocery pickup operation, he said. The online grocery experience, a retail pivot solidified during the pandemic, has created more openings for online order-filling team associates, a role that has proven to be a good fit for students and recent graduates.

“We have created more opportunities to help balance work and homelife due to the shift and demand in that area,” explained Academy Coach Terry Cates, who has been employed by Walmart for over three decades.

Cates initially invited Poplar Bluff Schools to participate, stating: “This event is an opportunity to celebrate not only our remodeled store but also the partnerships that make our community strong. We would be honored to have Poplar Bluff Schools represented as part of this special occasion.”

PBHS Principal Dr. Valerie Ivy expressed her excitement about the improvements. “I know that at the high school level, many of our students are – or will be – employees of Walmart, and we truly appreciate the opportunities Walmart provides as they learn to be productive members of our community and join the workforce,” Ivy replied.

Several administrators from the school system were also in attendance to show their support. Over the years, Walmart has contributed to the school system in multiple ways through organizations such as Bright Futures and by regularly participating in events like Stuff the Bus.

With over 10,000 variety store locations, Poplar Bluff was only Walmart’s 19th site in 1970 at its previous headquarters in Mansion Mall. The Supercenter, also among the first wave in Missouri, opened on its current property on the south end of town twenty years later. The corporation expanded its footprint in 2015 with a Neighborhood Market in the Eight Points Retail Development on Oak Grove Road near PBHS.

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Cutline: Sparky, Walmart’s mascot, poses with the Sho-Me Band following the re-grand opening event in celebration of the retailer’s recent renovation.